Author Archives - Page 20 of 32 - Hudson Childrens Book Festival

Wolf, Karina

Wolf, Karina

Karina has written copy and essays about food, fashion, film and art; scouted and developed film scripts; and worked as a writer-producer of documentaries. She studied film and writing in New York, Paris and Dublin and now lives in Manhattan with her dogs, Barry and Luca.

Chuck hails from an overgrown village among the peat bogs in the north of the Netherlands, where he spent his formative years climbing trees, drawing, reading, and cycling. He attended the Artez Institute of Visual Arts in Kampen, graduating from the department of Illustration in 2004. His work has been featured and selected by the Society of Illustrators, The Fox is black, Pikaland, Illustration Friday, and Spike Jonze’s blog: We Love You So. www.karinawolf.com www.chuckgroenink.com

3 Fun Facts

1. Karina wrote this story when her rescue dog Luca was turned away from a New York City dog park because the other dog owners thought he was a fox!
2. Chucky has a spotted dog and several fluffy cats.
3. He likes to draw pictures, bake bread and go for walks.

Phelan, Matt

Phelan, Matt

Matt Phelan is an award-winning, New York Times-bestselling author/illustrator of picture books, middle grade novels, and graphic novels for young readers. Recent books include The Sheep, The Rooster, and The Duck, Leave It to Plum!, Knights VS Dinosaurs and its sequels, and the picture books Sweater Weather and Turtle Walk. He is also the illustrator of picture books by authors such as Linda Sue Park, Jeanne Birdsall, and Jane Yolen. Matt’s latest book is Big Changes for Plum, fifth book in the Plum series. www.mattphelan.com

Awards

Scott O’Dell Award, Carolyn Field Award, Jefferson Cup, five-time Eisner Award nominee

3 Fun Facts

1. Snoopy was my favorite thing to draw when I was a kid.
2. I play ukulele and other instruments with enthusiasm.
3. I have a dog, a cat, and a chicken. Also, a family of bunnies live under my studio.

Hood, Susan

Hood, Susan

Susan Hood is the award-winning author of many books for young readers, including ADA’S VIOLIN; ALIAS ANNA; HARBORING HOPE; THE LAST STRAW; LIFEBOAT 5; LIFEBOAT 12; SHAKING THINGS UP; and SPIKE, THE MIXED-UP MONSTER. Starting her career as an editor at Scholastic, Sesame Workshop, and Nick Jr. Magazine, Susan now writes books for kids ages 0-14. She’s published with Candlewick, HarperCollins, Penguin, Random House, and Simon & Schuster. Based in Connecticut, Susan loves to travel, play with her granddaughters, hike with her rescue dog, and spend summers sailing with her husband along the New England coast. Visit Susan at susanhoodbooks.com.

Awards

Susan is the recipient of the E.B. White Honor Award, two Christopher Awards, the Américas Award, the SCBWI Golden Kite Award, and the Bank Street Flora Stieglitz Straus Award, given to “a distinguished work of nonfiction that serves as an inspiration to young people.” ALIAS ANNA was named a 2023 Sydney Taylor Notable Book and was a finalist for the 2023 National Jewish Book Awards.

3 Fun Facts

1. I’ve sailed from Tortola to Bermuda to Connecticut on a 38′ boat. Three days out we lost our engine, navigation equipment, and lights!
2. My great-great-grandfather was a lighthouse keeper.
3. As a writer, I’ve gotten to meet some of my heroes–Ruby Bridges, Jane Goodall, and Arnold Lobel!

Northrop, Michael

Michael Northrop is the New York Times bestselling author of the TombQuest series and other books for kids and teens. His first young adult novel, Gentlemen, earned him a Publishers Weekly Flying Start citation, and his second, Trapped, was an Indie Next List selection. His first middle-grade novel, Plunked, was named one of the best children’s books of the year by the New York Public Library and was selected by NPR for its Backseat Book Club. A former senior editor at Sports Illustrated Kids, he now writes full-time from his home in New York City. Visit him online at www.michaelnorthrop.net

3 Fun Facts

1. I am dyslexic and repeated second grade.
2. I once stepped on a yellowjacket nest and was stung approx.75 times.
3. According to family lore, I am related to Jonathan Swift, who wrote Gulliver’s Travels.

Shapiro, Esmé

Shapiro, Esmé

Esmé Shapiro is an acclaimed author and illustrator of books for children. Her previous picture books include Ooko, a finalist for a Governor General’s Literary Award; Alma and the Beast; Carol and the Pickle-Toad; My Self, Your Self; and Roy Is Not a Dog, co-created with her husband, Daniel Newell Kaufman. She also illustrated Yak and Dove by Kyo Maclear; Eliza: The Story of Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton by Margaret McNamara; and A Garden of Creatures by Sheila Heti. Esmé lives in a castle in the Hudson Valley with her husband and their two princes. She will never say no to a slice of three-year-old cake. www.esmeshapiroillustration.com

Awards

Finalist for a Governor General’s Literary Award (Ooko). Exhibited with The Society of Illustrators. My Self, Your Self named one of the Best Children’s Books of the Year 2023 by The Bank Street College of Education.

1. I have eight ducks that like to eat spaghetti.
2. I am as tall as a shoebill stork!
3. If I were an animal, I would be a buffalo with a hat.

Johnston, Jeffry W.

Johnston, Jeffry W.

Jeffry W. Johnston is the author of the Edgar-nominated FRAGMENTS and the In the Margins Top 10 Book award winner of THE TRUTH, and both were Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers selections by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). His most recent teen mystery/thriller, FOLLOWING, was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. He is never without a book to read and is passionate about movies, TV binging, and baseball. His website is at jeffrywjohnston.com

Awards
– FOLLOWING: Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
– THE TRUTH: In the Margins Top 10 Book Award winner; YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Readers
– FRAGMENTS: 2008 Edgar Award nomination for Best Young Adult Mystery; YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Readers

3 Fun Facts

1. I lived in England for a year when I was in 5th grade.
2. My father was an anthropologist, and my sister is an archeologist.
3. I’m a big movie fan and my favorite movie is IT’S A WONDEFUL LIFE.

Lerangis, Peter

Lerangis, Peter

Peter Lerangis‘s books have sold nearly 7 million copies and been translated into 35 languages. His nine N.Y. Times bestsellers include the entire SEVEN WONDERS fantasy series and his 39 CLUES books. Recent books include BEASTIES, about five friends who become Central Park animals on a school field trip and THROWBACK, his exciting time-travel trilogy. He’s written many Junior Library Guild selections, and his YA novel SOMEBODY, PLEASE TELL ME WHO I AM won an ALA Schneider Award. He’s also performed on Broadway, run a marathon, rock-climbed in Yosemite during a 6.1 earthquake, and graduated Harvard with a degree in biochemistry. peterlerangis.com

Awards
ALA Schneider Award for best book depicting the disability experience; ALA Quick Picks; Multiple Junior Library Guild Awards; ALA Best Books; New York Public Library Best Books; Bank Street Library Best Books.

3 Fun Facts

1. My left pinkie has camptodactyly, which means it can’t straighten, and I have worked it into the plot of a book.
2. I sang and acted in a Broadway show.
3. The letters of my full name can be rearranged into Sergeant Peril.

Hiranandani, Veera

Hiranandani, Veera

Veera Hiranandani is the award-winning author of several books for young people. Her most recent book, a companion to her Newbery Honor-winning THE NIGHT DIARY, is called AMIL AND THE AFTER. She’s also the author of HOW TO FIND WHAT YOU’RE NOT LOOKING FOR, which received the 2022 Sydney Taylor Book Award among other accolades. She earned her MFA in fiction writing at Sarah Lawrence College. A former editor at Simon & Schuster, she’s now a faculty member with the MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program at The Vermont College of Fine Arts. www.veerahiranandani.com

Awards

A Newbery Honor, A Sydney Taylor Award, A National Jewish Book Award Finalist, The Jane Addams Award, the New York Historical Society Children’s History Book Prize, a Walter Dean Myers Honor, and the Malka Penn Award for Human Rights in Children’s Literature.

3 Fun Facts

1. I’m from Fairfield County, CT.
2. I LOVE cats.
3. I used to think I’d grow up to be a painter or an actor.

Abbott, Tony

Abbott, Tony

Tony Abbott writes books for young readers aged 6 to 14, including Kringle, Underworlds, and the long-running series, The Secrets of Droon. He is also author of the realistic novels Firegirl (2006 Golden Kite Award for Fiction) and The Postcard (2008 Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery), and the civil-rights drama, Lunch-Box Dream. His latest novels are The Summer of Owen Todd (2017), Denis Ever After (2018), and The Great Jeff (2019). Tony has been on the faculty of Lesley University’s MFA in Creative Writing, is a frequent conference speaker and visitor to schools. www.tonyabbottbooks.com

3 Fun Facts

1. I play the guitar middling fair, the violin terribly, and the trombone not at all.
2. I wrote poetry for twenty years before writing novels for children, and am now combining the two disciplines.

Stamper, Vesper

Stamper, Vesper

Vesper Stamper’s debut novel, What the Night Sings, has been longlisted for the National Book Award and received numerous accolades for recounting the seldom-told story of what happened to Holocaust survivors in the aftermath of World War 2. For twenty years, Author-Illustrator Vesper Stamper has created work through which asks the central question: how do people, especially children, who suffer trauma, go on to rise above their experiences as victims and go beyond surviving to flourishing? She believes in the dignity of every human being as made in the image of God, and in the resilience of the human spirit. www.vesperillustration.com